Quam Tempus Fugit

Alan S Jeeves 1951 (Lancashire)



Watch it haste and watch it fly,
Why try espy it flashing by?
Now you see it, now you don't,
Then you heard it ~ now you won't.

First it's here and then it's gone,
It's much the same for everyone.
Like a cloud high in the air
Glance once more and it's not there.

Like a bubble drifting past,
Though you know it cannot last.
A tranquil breeze, the bubble stops ~
Attempt to touch!  the bubble pops.

Where it stems from no one knows;
No one sees to where it goes.
You know it's there but you can't find...
As not a trace it leaves behind.

Man can't beat this mighty force,
To try and try he'll fail, of course;
He'll never grasp the wheres and whys
Quam tempus fugit ~ how time flies!

About this poem

Another early ASJ poem, this time from 1974. I hope that you can find the time to read it.

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Submitted by AlanSJeeves on June 21, 2021

Modified on April 22, 2023

44 sec read
24

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB XXCC DDEE FFGG HHII
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 663
Words 136
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Alan S Jeeves

Alan S Jeeves is a Lancashire (England) born, Yorkshire based classical poet. more…

All Alan S Jeeves poems | Alan S Jeeves Books

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